


The Commercial

by belivaird_st



Category: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:19:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22310149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belivaird_st/pseuds/belivaird_st
Summary: Therese bravely tries out for a TV ad commercial, but Carol ends up getting the part...
Relationships: Carol Aird/Therese Belivet
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

Therese felt a cold sweat running down the back of her light gray cotton blouse the moment they called her name to come rehearse her lines for a toothpaste ad commercial. They made her stand in front of a whirling TV camera with the director smoking a fat cigar from the side of his mouth.

“Hold up the toothpaste and smile real big for me, sweetheart,” Mr. Wyman instructed, gesturing for Therese to go ahead and pick up the white plastic tube of paste off the prop table. He watched her pick up the toothpaste and had it leveled with her jaw.

“Good, now, smile and say your line, sweetheart...”

“You can’t go wrong with a smile so bright,” Therese began, struggling to keep herself from squinting under the fluorescent lights. “Try Galloway’s Toothpaste—”

“Cut!” Mr. Wyman yelled. He furiously shook his balding head at the reddening Therese. “We’re not dead, Miss Belivet! This isn’t somebody’s funeral! Try again!”

“Y-you can’t go wrong,” she stammered. She had the toothpaste lowered now. 

“Cut!” 

Several seconds later, we find Therese storming out of the acting room with a look of sheer annoyance on her face. Carol looked up from a fashion magazine on her lap. She was seated on a folded metal chair where other women sat waiting to act out. 

“How’d it go?” she dared to ask.

“Lousy,” Therese mumbled. “I was horrible in there.” 

“You gave it a shot, that’s what counts,” Carol soothed. “Remember how badly you wanted us to turn around the second we parked outside the studio? That’s not the same person standing in front of me. You should be proud of yourself, Therese...”

Before she could argue, Mr. Wyman emerged out from the next room with a defeating look. He dismissed all the casting ladies sitting before him, but as soon as he saw Carol setting her magazine down and picking up her purse off the floor, he clapped his hands and pointed at her, excitedly.

“Yes, you! You’re perfect! A dream! Exactly what we need! Your face, beautiful! Righty-o!”

Carol looked so confused and glanced over towards Therese’s direction, who looked stunned beyond belief.

Carol was the chosen girl for the toothpaste ad commercial. She recited her lines and gave the cameras a big, wide smile with the product in perfect level with her face. Therese was livid. She couldn’t believe it. She could barely say two words during the car ride home.

“Honey, can we talk about this?”

Carol was feeling so bad right now. She was holding the steering wheel with both hands. She could see Therese sink further into the navy wool collar of her coat from the corner of her eye in the passenger seat. The last thing she wanted was to make her angel upset. Especially if she was the reason behind it.

“Therese, I’m sorry,” Carol quivered now, sounding ready to cry. “How was I to know they’d pick me?”

“The commercial was my thing,” Therese growled. 

“I know that, darling.”

“You didn’t have to go in there and show off.”

“Show off?” Carol repeated. Her voice raised higher. “I thought you’d be happy for me! I was only doing it for you!” 

Therese spoke no more and moodily turned her head towards the car window. As she continued to pout, Carol could feel her heart pounding so hard in her chest, she thought she was going to have a panic attack. She cried quietly the rest of the way home.

They both did. For different reasons.


	2. Chapter 2

Therese squint open her eyes at Carol rubbing her knuckles along her cheek. The touch of her lady’s warmth felt sweet and comforting to what she was used to. Silently, Therese shifted her nose and lips out from underneath the silk fabric of her pillow and began to listen to what Carol was saying,

“I’ll drop out of the commercial if that will make you happy.”

She almost forgot about yesterday’s embarrassment. The memories of those hot ceiling lights, that red glowing TV camera and her stammering over those dumb lines reentered her brain, causing her to feel self-conscious all over again.

“No, don’t do that,” Therese mumbled, pulling her hand away from Carol’s face. 

“I hate this raincloud hovering above our heads, Therese,” Carol sniffled and palmed one watery eye socket. “I’ll do anything to make us right again.” She looked different without her makeup on. More natural with her golden curls pressing up one side of her head. No sparkly jewelry to make her stand out.

Therese scooted across the bed in her navy plaid set of pajamas to lay in Carol’s arms. Her nose was buried inside the pink silk embroidered lapels of the older woman’s night blouse. She inhaled, then hummed into collarbone and flesh. Therese kissed Carol, realizing how much the commercial was no big deal and that her love for Carol what really was important. There was going to be things Carol would do a better job than her and she had to accept that.

“There’s going to be things you’re better at, and that goes the same for me,” Therese murmured softly.

“Mm-hmm,” Carol agreed, hugging Therese tighter.

It took them awhile to finally get out of bed and make a pot of coffee.


End file.
